Refrigerator for vehicle and vehicle

ABSTRACT

Provided is a refrigerating or warming apparatus. The refrigerating or warming apparatus include a cavity of which at least a portion of a wall is provided as a vacuum adiabatic body, a machine room disposed at a side outside the cavity, a compressor accommodated in the machine room to compress a refrigerator, a first heat exchange module accommodated in the machine room to allow the refrigerant to be heat-exchanged, a second heat exchange module accommodated in the cavity to allow the refrigerant to be heat-exchanged, and a machine room cover which covers the machine room to separate a passage and in which an internal air flow and an external air flow have directions opposite to each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT Application No. PCT/KR2018/001387, filed Feb. 1, 2018, whichclaims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0014982, filedFeb. 2, 2017, whose entire disclosures are hereby incorporated byreference.

1. FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator for a vehicle and avehicle.

2. BACKGROUND

Refrigerators are apparatuses for storing products such as foodsreceived in the refrigerator at a low temperature including sub-zerotemperatures. As a result of this action, there is an advantage that auser's access or intake with respect to the products may be improved, ora storage period of the products may be lengthened.

Refrigerators are classified into indoor refrigerators using acommercial power source or outdoor refrigerators using a portable powersource. In addition, in recent years, a refrigerator for a vehicle,which is used after it is fixedly mounted on the vehicle, is increasingin supply. The refrigerator for the vehicle is further increasing indemand due to an increase in supply of vehicles and an increase inpremium-class vehicles.

A conventional configuration of the refrigerator for the vehicle will bedescribed.

First, there is an example in which heat in the refrigerator is forciblydischarged to an outside of the refrigerator by using a thermoelement.However, there is a limitation in that a cooling rate is slow due to lowthermal efficiency of the thermoelement, which may deteriorate user'ssatisfaction.

For another example, there is an example in which a refrigerant or coldair is drawn from an air conditioning system installed forair-conditioning an entire interior of the vehicle and used as a coolingsource for the refrigerator for the vehicle.

In this example, there is a disadvantage that a separate flow path ofair or refrigerant is required to draw the air or refrigerator from theair conditioning system of the vehicle. Also, there is a limitation thatlow-temperature energy is lost during the movement of the air orrefrigerant through the flow path. Also, there is a limitation that aposition at which the refrigerator for the vehicle is installed islimited to a position that is adjacent to the air conditioning system ofthe vehicle due to the above-described limitations.

For another example, there is an example in which a refrigeration cycleusing a refrigerant is applied.

In this example, since a part constituting the refrigeration cycle islarge in size, most of the parts are mounted on a trunk, and only a doorof the refrigerator is opened to the inside of the vehicle. In thiscase, there is a limitation that a position for installing therefrigerator for the vehicle is limited. Also, there is a limitationthat the trunk is significantly reduced in volume to reduce an amount ofcargo that is capable of being loaded in the trunk.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Embodiments also provide a vehicle refrigerator to which a driver isdirectly accessible while using refrigeration cycle, and a vehicle.

Embodiments also provide a vehicle refrigerator that is capable ofincreasing a capacity of the refrigerator, and a vehicle.

Embodiments also provide a vehicle refrigerator that is capable ofsolving a limitation in which products accommodated in the refrigeratoris slowly cooled, and a vehicle.

Embodiments provide a vehicle refrigerator that is capable of improvingenergy efficiency, and a vehicle.

Embodiments also provide a vehicle refrigerator that is capable ofblocking an access of foreign substances, and a vehicle.

Technical Solution

In one embodiment, a refrigerator for a vehicle includes a machine roomdisposed at a side of a cavity or a compartment, a compressoraccommodated in the machine room to compress a refrigerant, acondensation module or assembly accommodated in the machine room tocondense the refrigerant, an evaporation module or assembly accommodatedin the cavity to evaporate the refrigerant and thereby to cool thecavity, and a hinge part adiabatic member or an adiabatic hinge supportcovering an upper end of the cavity and an upper end of the evaporationmodule and supporting a hinge shaft or hinge pins of the door. Accordingto the embodiments, the vehicle refrigerator in which high-efficiencyrefrigeration cycle is compact may be provided.

The refrigerator may further include a conduit connecting theevaporation module to an expansion valve to pass over a wall of thecavity to realize high adiabatic performance without adiabatic loss ofthe cavity. The refrigerator may further include at least tworefrigerant conduits provided in the conduit and heat-exchanged, aregeneration adiabatic member surrounding the at least two refrigerantconduits, and a regeneration adiabatic member seating part or a seatinginsert disposed on the hinge part adiabatic member to surround theregeneration adiabatic member, thereby further reducing the adiabaticloss.

The hinge part adiabatic member may extend up to the outside over theopened surface of the cavity as well as a corner of one side of thecavity to improve alignment with other parts, prevent foreign substancesfrom being introduced, and further reduce the adiabatic loss.

The hinge part adiabatic member may include an inner support and anouter support, which protrude upward both sides, which are spaced apartfrom each other, of the hinge part adiabatic member to support the hingeshaft of the door and may support the door.

The refrigerator may further include a connection bar connecting theinner support to the outer support to thermally insulate an entirecorner of the one side of the cavity.

The evaporation module may come into contact with a bottom surface ofthe connection bar to improve the alignment between the parts andfurther reduce the adiabatic loss.

The cavity may be provided as a vacuum adiabatic body that is openedupward to improve the adiabatic performance by more utilizing the narrowinner space of the vehicle.

The hinge part adiabatic member may further include a fitting part or aseal sealed to correspond to an inner surface of the cavity tocompletely realize sealing of the cavity, thereby improving theadiabatic performance.

The refrigerator may further include a console cover or a cover coveringan upper edge of a main body together with the hinge part adiabaticmember to shield an opened surface of the refrigerator disposed in theconsole space of the vehicle.

At least a portion of the hinge part adiabatic member may be insertedinto the console cover, and a bearing part or a bearing supporting thehinge shaft of the door may be disposed on the console cover to providea door hinge structure to which two parts are applied together, therebymore stably performing the hinge action of the door.

In another embodiment, a vehicle includes a console having a consolespace therein, a console cover covering an upper portion of the console,a suction port disposed on one side of first and second (e.g., left andright) sides of the console, an exhaust port or an exhaust and getterport disposed on the other side of the left and right sides of theconsole, a refrigerator bottom frame disposed on a lower portion of aninner space of the console, a cavity provided at a side on therefrigerator bottom frame, which faces the suction port, to accommodatea product, and a machine room provided at a side on the refrigeratorbottom frame, which faces the exhaust port so that an air conditioningsystem is provided in the narrow inner space of the vehicle.

The air conditioning system may include a compressor disposed at a frontside of the machine room to compress a refrigerant, a condensationmodule disposed at a rear side to condense the refrigerant, and anevaporation module disposed in the cavity to evaporate the refrigerantso that a refrigeration system is realized.

A hinge part adiabatic member interposed between the evaporation moduleand the console cover to support the hinge of the door may be providedto perform the heat insulation with respect to one corner of the cavityand support the hinge of the door.

The vehicle may further include a bearing part disposed on the consolecover and a support disposed on the hinge part adiabatic member andinserted into the bearing part to more stably perform the operations ofsupporting the door and opening the door.

The bearing part and the support may be disposed one by one at inner andouter sides, respectively to open the door in front and rear directionof the vehicle.

A fitting groove reinforcing and supporting the hinge shaft of the doormay be defined in the support to more stably perform the opening of thedoor.

The hinge part adiabatic member may further extend to an outer space ofthe cavity to more improve the adiabatic performance.

In further another embodiment, a refrigerator for a vehicle includes acavity having an opened upper side to accommodate a product, a dooropening/closing a top surface or top opening of the cavity, a machineroom spaced apart from the cavity, a hinge part adiabatic membercovering at least a portion of an upper end of the cavity and supportingthe door, and a console cover disposed above the cavity to cover anupper edge of the cavity and the hinge part adiabatic member to morestably support the door.

The vehicle may further include a bearing part disposed on the consolecover of the door to support the hinge shaft of the door and a supportdisposed on the hinge part adiabatic member and inserted into thebearing part to reinforce supporting force of the door to draw thesupport action through interlocking between the two members, therebystably supporting the door.

The evaporation module may have a top surface coming into contact with abottom surface of the hinge part adiabatic member to improve reliabilitywith respect to sealing between the adjacent parts.

The hinge part adiabatic member may further protrude to the outside ofthe cavity to perform the heat insulation between the external parts ofthe cavity so that the refrigerator is more compact.

Advantageous Effects

The adiabatic performance with respect to the inside of the cavity ofthe vehicle refrigerator using the vacuum adiabatic body according to anembodiment may be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a console of thevehicle;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the inside of avehicle refrigerator;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an air flow outside a machine room ofthe vehicle refrigerator;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hinge part adiabatic member;

FIGS. 6 to 9 are plan, front, bottom, and left views of the hinge partadiabatic member;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of an evaporation module;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an internal configuration of a vacuumadiabatic body according to various embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a view of a conductive resistance sheet and a peripheralportion of the conductive resistance sheet;

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating results obtained by observing a time anda pressure in a process of exhausting the inside of the vacuum adiabaticbody when a supporting unit is used; and

FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating results obtained by comparing a vacuumpressure with gas conductivity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description according to embodiments with reference tothe drawings, the same reference numerals are given to differentdrawings in the case of the same constituents.

Also, in the description of each drawing, the description will be madewith reference to the direction in which the vehicle is viewed from thefront of the vehicle, rather than the front viewed by the driver basedon the traveling direction of the vehicle. For example, the driver is onthe right, and the assistant driver or passenger is on the left.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a seat 2 on which a user is seated is provided in avehicle 1. The seat 2 may be provided in a pair to be horizontallyspaced apart from each other. A console is provided between the seats 2,and a driver places items that are necessary for driving or componentsthat are necessary for manipulating the vehicle in the console. Frontseats on which the driver and the assistant driver or passenger areseated may be described as an example of the seats 2.

It should be understood that the vehicle includes various components,which are necessary for driving the vehicle, such as a moving devicesuch as a wheel, a driving device such as an engine, and a steeringdevice such as a steering wheel.

The refrigerator for the vehicle according to an embodiment may bepreferably placed in the console. However, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the vehicle refrigeratormay be installed in various spaces. For example, the vehiclerefrigerator may be installed in a space between rear seats, a door, aglove box, and a center fascia. This is one of factors that the vehiclerefrigerator according to an embodiment is capable of being installedonly when power is supplied, and a minimum space is secured. However, itis a great advantage of the embodiment in that it may be installed inthe console between the seats, which is limited in space due tolimitations in vehicle design.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the console of thevehicle.

Referring to FIG. 2, a console 3 may be provided as a separate part thatis made of a material such as a resin. A steel frame 98 may be furtherprovided below the console 3 to maintain strength of the vehicle, and asensor part 99 such as a sensor may be provided in a spacing partbetween the console 3 and the steel frame 98. The sensor part 99 may bea part that is necessary for accurately sensing an external signal andmeasuring a signal at a position of the driver. For example, an airbagsensor that directly impacts the life of the driver may be mounted.

The console 3 may have a console space 4 therein, and the console space4 may be covered by a console cover or a cover 300. The console cover300 may be fixed to the console 3 in a fixed type. Thus, it is difficultfor external foreign substances to be introduced into the consolethrough the console cover 300. A vehicle refrigerator 7 is seated in theconsole space 4.

A suction port 5 may be provided in a first or right surface of theconsole 3 to introduce air within the vehicle into the console space 4.The suction port 5 may face the driver. An exhaust port 6 may beprovided in a second or left surface of the console 3 to exhaust warmedair while the vehicle refrigerator operates from the inside of theconsole space 4. The exhaust port 6 may face the assistant driver orpassenger. A grill may be provided in each of the suction port 5 and theexhaust port 6 to prevent a user's hand from being inserted and therebyto provide safety, prevent a falling object from being introduced, andallow air to be exhausted to flow downward so as not to be directed tothe person.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the inside of thevehicle refrigerator.

Referring to FIG. 3, the vehicle refrigerator 7 includes a refrigeratorbottom frame or a refrigerator base 8 supporting parts, a machine room200 provided in a left side of the refrigerator bottom frame 8, and acavity or compartment 100 provided in a right side of the refrigeratorbottom frame 8. The machine room 200 may be covered by a machine roomcover 700, and an upper side of the cavity 100 may be covered by theconsole cover 300 and a door 800.

The machine room cover 700 may not only guide a passage of the coolingair, but also prevent foreign substances from being introduced into themachine room 200.

A controller 900 may be disposed on the machine room cover 700 tocontrol an overall operation of the vehicle refrigerator 7. Since thecontroller 900 is installed at the above-described position, the vehiclerefrigerator 7 may operate without problems in a proper temperaturerange in a narrow space inside the console space 4. That is to say, thecontroller 900 may be cooled by air flowing through a gap between themachine room cover 700 and the console cover 300 and separated from aninner space of the machine room 200 by the machine room cover 700. Thus,the controller 900 may not be affected by heat within the machine room200.

The console cover 300 may not only cover an opened upper portion or topof the console space 4, but also cover an upper end edge of the cavity100. A door 800 may be further installed on the console cover 300 toallow the user to cover an opening through which products are accessibleto the cavity 100. The door 800 may be opened by using rear portions ofthe console cover 300 and the cavity 100 as hinge points. Here, theopening of the console cover 300, the door 800, and the cavity 100 maybe performed by conveniently manipulating the door 800 by the userbecause the console cover 300, the door 800, and the cavity 100 arehorizontally provided when viewed from the user and also disposed at arear side of the console.

A condensation module or assembly 500, a dryer 630, and a compressor 201may be successively installed on a base 210 in the machine room 200 in aflow direction of the cooling air. A refrigerant conduit 600 forallowing the refrigerant to smoothly flow is provided in the machineroom 200. A portion of the refrigerant conduit 600 may extend to theinside of the cavity 100 to supply the refrigerant. The refrigerantconduit 600 may extend to the outside of the cavity 100 through theupper opening through which the products are accessible to the cavity100. The condensation module 500 may include a condensation fan 501 anda condenser.

The cavity 100 has an opened top surface or a top opening and fivesurfaces that are covered by a vacuum adiabatic body 101.

The vacuum adiabatic body 101 may include a first plate member 10providing a boundary of a low-temperature inner space of the cavity 100,a second plate member 20 providing a boundary of a high-temperatureouter space, and a conductive resistance sheet 60 blocking heat transferbetween the plate members 10 and 20. Since the vacuum adiabatic body 101has a thin adiabatic thickness to maximally obtain adiabatic efficiency,a large capacity of the cavity 100 may be realized.

An exhaust and getter port or an exhaust port 40 for exhaust of theinner space of the vacuum adiabatic body 101 and for installing a getterthat maintains the vacuum state may be provided on one surface. Theexhaust and getter port 40 may provide an exhaust and getter together tobetter contribute to miniaturization of the vehicle refrigerator 7.

An evaporation module or assembly 400 may be installed in the cavity100. The evaporation module 400 may forcibly blow evaporation heat ofthe refrigerant, which is introduced into the cavity 100 through therefrigerant conduit 600, and forcibly blow cold air, into the cavity100. The evaporation module may be provided at a rear side within thecavity 100.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an air flow outside a machine room ofthe vehicle refrigerator.

Referring to FIG. 4, air introduced into the suction port 5 moves to aleft side of the vehicle refrigerator through a space between the vacuumadiabatic body 101 defining a front wall of the cavity 100 and a frontsurface of the console space 4. Since a heating source is not providedat a right side of the vehicle refrigerator, the suction air may bemaintained at its original temperature.

The air moving to the left side of the vehicle refrigerator may bechanged in direction to a rear side to move along a top surface of themachine room cover 700 outside the machine room 200.

To smoothly guide the air flow, the machine room cover 700 may have aheight that gradually increases backward from a front surface 710. Also,to provide a region in which the controller 900 is disposed, and preventthe parts within the machine room 200 from interfering in position witheach other, a stepped part may be disposed on a top surface of themachine room cover 700.

In detail, a first step portion 732, a second stepped part 733, and athird stepped part 735 may be successively provided backward from thefront surface. A controller placing part 734 having the same height asthe third stepped part is disposed on the second stepped part 733. Dueto this structure, the controller 900 may be disposed in parallel to thethird stepped part 735 and the controller placing part 734.

The air moving along the top surface of the machine room cover 700 maycool the controller 900. When the controller is cooled, the air may beslightly heated.

The air moving up to a rear side of the machine room cover 700 flowsdownward. An opened large cover suction hole is defined in the rearsurface of the machine room cover 700. For this, a predetermined spacemay be provided between a rear surface of the machine room cover 700 anda rear surface of the console space 4.

The evaporation module 400 is disposed at a rear side of the cavity 100,and the refrigerant conduit 600 supplying the refrigerant into theevaporation module 400 passes over the cavity 100. In addition, a hingeof the door 800 and the evaporation module 400 are placed on the rearside of the cavity so that a rear portion of the cavity is vulnerable toheat insulation.

To solve this limitation, a hinge part adiabatic member or an adiabatichinge support 470 is provided. The hinge part adiabatic member 470 mayalso be referred to as an adiabatic door support. The hinge partadiabatic member 470 performs an adiabatic action on an upper portion ofthe evaporation module 400, between the evaporation module 400 and arear wall of the cavity 100, and a contact part between a regenerationadiabatic member 651 inserted into the cavity and an inner space of thecavity.

As described above, the console cover 300 is further provided above thehinge part adiabatic member 470 to lead to complete heat insulation.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hinge part adiabatic member.

Referring to FIG. 5, the hinge part adiabatic member 470 includes aninner support 473 covering the regeneration adiabatic member 651 andinserted into an inner bearing part or an inner bearing 373, an outersupport 472 inserted into an outer bearing part or an outer bearing 372,and a connection bar 471 connecting the supports 472 and 473 to eachother and thermally insulating an upper portion of the evaporationmodule 400.

Since the supports 472 and 473 are inserted into the bearing parts 372and 373, the hinge part adiabatic member 470 and the console cover 300may be integrated with each other. Also, since the console cover 300 isinstalled, the hinge part adiabatic member 470 may be fixed to apredetermined position with respect to the cavity 100. That is to say,the supports 472 and 473 may allow the parts in a rear space within thecavity 100 to come into close contact with each other while supportingthe evaporation module 400. Thus, the parts may come into strong contactwith each other to prevent the cold air from leaking. Also, a hingeaction of the door 800 may be more secured.

Each of the supports 472 and 473 may have a structure that graduallydecreases in cross-sectional area toward an end or side thereof so thatthe supports 472 and 473 are inserted into the bearing parts 372 and373.

The inner support 473 may have a thickness greater than that of theouter support 472. This is because the inner support 473 is a portionsurrounding the regeneration adiabatic member 651 to cause a heat loss.

A regeneration adiabatic member seating part or a seating insert 476having a shape accurately matches an outer appearance or shape of theregeneration adiabatic member 651 is provided on an inner surface of theinner support 473. Thus, the inner support 473 may be curved in a smootharc shape. A lower end surface of the regeneration adiabatic memberseating part 476 may be placed on an upper end of the vacuum adiabaticbody 101. Thus, a vertical position relationship between the hinge partadiabatic member 470 and the cavity 100 may be clear, and a gap betweenthe parts may not occur.

An inner fitting part or an inner seal 477 further extending downwardfrom a rear portion of the regeneration adiabatic member seating part476 may be further provided. The inner fitting part 477 may correspondto an inner surface of the vacuum adiabatic body 101, and thus, theposition relationship in a front and rear direction of the hinge partadiabatic member 470 may be more clearly fixed. An outer fitting part oran outer seal 478 corresponding to the inner fitting part 477 may alsobe provided on the outer support 472.

A part on which the evaporation module 400 is seated to be fitted isprovided on the connection bar 471. Particularly, a cover seating part488, a fan housing seating part 474, and a second compartment seatingpart 475 may be provided. The position relationship in a left and rightdirection with respect to the cavity of the hinge part adiabatic member470 may be cleared by the cover seating part 488. Each of the fanhousing seating part 474 and the second compartment seating part 475 isprovided corresponding to an upper shape of the evaporation module 400to prevent the cold air from leaking through the contact part betweenthe evaporation module 400 and the hinge part adiabatic member 470.

According to the above-described constituents, leakage of external airthrough a boundary with the contact parts or various constituents cominginto contact with the hinge part adiabatic member 470 may be preventedto enhance the adiabatic performance with respect to the portion that isvulnerable to heat leakage.

FIGS. 6 to 9 are plan, front, bottom, and left views of the hinge partadiabatic member.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 9, the configuration of the hinge part adiabaticmember 470 and an action of each constituent may be more clearlyunderstood.

An outer fitting groove 480 and an inner fitting groove 479 are definedin inner portions of the supports 472 and 473, respectively. The fittinggroove 479 may be configured to accommodate a support portion of theconsole cover 300 in which each of the bearing parts 372 and 373 isthicker to accommodate the hinge shaft or hinge pings of the door 800.

The second compartment seating part 475 may have a recessed structureand provide a path through which a structure such as a wire that is ledout of the evaporation module 400 passes to the outside.

A skirt 481 further extends downward to an inside of the regenerationadiabatic member seating part 476. The skirt 481 may be a portion thatfurther extends downward to help the perforation of the regenerationadiabatic member 651 that enters into the cavity 100.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the evaporation module.

Referring to FIG. 10, the evaporation module 400 includes a rear cover430 provided at a rear side to accommodate the parts and a front cover450 provided at a front side of the rear cover 430 to face the cavity100. A space may be provided in the evaporation module 400 by the frontcover 450 and the rear cover 430 to accommodate the parts in the space.

In the space defined by the front cover 450 and the rear cover 430, anevaporator 410 is disposed at a lower side, and an evaporation fan 420is disposed at an upper side. A centrifugal fan that is capable of beingmounted in a narrow space may be used as the evaporation fan 420. Moreparticularly, a sirocco fan including a fan inlet 422 having a largearea to suction air and a fan outlet 421 blowing the air at a high ratein a predetermined discharge direction in a narrow space may be used asthe evaporation fan 420.

The air passing through the evaporator 410 is suctioned into the faninlet 422, and the air discharged from the fan outlet 421 is dischargedto the cavity 100. For this, a predetermined space may be providedbetween the evaporation fan 420 and the rear cover 430.

A plurality of compartments may be provided in the rear cover 430 toaccommodate the parts. Particularly, the evaporator 410 and theevaporation fan 420 are disposed in a first compartment 431 to guide aflow of cool air. A lamp or a light source 440 may be disposed in asecond compartment to brighten the inside of the cavity 100 so that theuser looks at or views the inside of the cavity 100. A temperaturesensor 441 is disposed in a fourth compartment 434 to measure an innertemperature of the cavity 100 and thereby to control a temperature ofthe vehicle refrigerator 7.

When the temperature sensor 441 disposed in the fourth compartment 434measures the inner temperature of the cavity 100, the air flow in thecavity 100 may not have a direct influence on the temperature sensor441. That is, the cold air of the evaporator 410 may not have a directinfluence on a third compartment 433.

Although the third compartment 433 is removed in some cases, the thirdcompartment 433 may be provided to prevent an error of the innertemperature of the cavity 100 from occurring by conductive heat.

The fourth compartment 434 and the temperature sensor 441 are disposedat a right upper end of the evaporation module 400, which is farthestfrom the evaporator 410. This is to prevent the cold air from having aninfluence on the evaporator 410. That is to say, to prevent the cold airof the evaporator from having a direct influence on the fourthcompartment 434 through the conduction, the fourth compartment 434 andthe temperature sensor 441 may be isolated from the first compartment431 by other compartments 432 and 433.

An inner structure of the first compartment 431 will be described indetail. A fan housing 435 on which the evaporation fan 420 is disposedis provided at an upper side, and an evaporator placing part 437 onwhich the evaporator 410 is placed is provided at a lower side.

A conduit passage 436 is provided in a left side of the fan housing 435.The conduit passage 436 may be a portion through which a refrigerantconduit 600 passing over the vacuum adiabatic body 101 is guided intothe evaporation module 400 and be provided in a left corner portion ofthe evaporation module 400. The refrigerant conduit 600 may include twoconduits that are surrounded by the refrigerant adiabatic member 651 sothat the two conduits through which the evaporation module 400 isinserted and withdrawn are heat-exchanged with each other. Thus, theconduit passage 436 may have a predetermined volume. The conduit passage436 may vertically extend from a left side of the evaporation module 400to improve space density inside the evaporation module 400.

As described above, the evaporator 410 and the evaporation fan 420 areprovided in the rear cover 430 to perform the cooling of air within thecavity and the circulation of air within the cavity.

The front cover 450 has an approximately rectangular shape like the rearcover 430. A cold air inflow hole 451 guiding the air inflow to thelower side of the evaporator 410 and a cold air discharge hole 452aligned with the fan outlet 421 is defined in a lower portion of thefront cover 450. The cold air discharge hole 452 may have a shape ofwhich an inner surface is smoothly bent to discharge air, which isdischarged downward from the evaporation fan 420, forward.

The front cover 450 aligned with the second compartment 432 may beopened, or a window 453 may be provided on the portion of the frontcover 450 so that light of the lamp 440 is irradiated into the cavity100.

An air vent hole 454 is defined in the front cover 450 aligned with thefourth compartment 434. The air discharged from the cold air dischargehole 452 circulates inside the cavity 100 and then is introduced intothe air vent hole 454. Thus, the inner temperature of the cavity 100 maybe more accurately detected. For example, the inner temperature of thecavity 100 may be erroneously measured by a large amount of cold airdischarged from the cold air discharge hole 452.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an internal configuration of a vacuumadiabatic body according to various embodiments.

First, referring to FIG. 11a , a vacuum space part 50 is provided in athird space having a different pressure from first and second spaces,preferably, a vacuum state, thereby reducing adiabatic loss. The thirdspace may be provided at a temperature between the temperature of thefirst space and the temperature of the second space.

The third space is provided as a space in the vacuum state. Thus, thefirst and second plate members 10 and 20 receive a force contracting ina direction in which they approach each other due to a forcecorresponding to a pressure difference between the first and secondspaces. Therefore, the vacuum space part 50 may be deformed in adirection in which it is reduced. In this case, adiabatic loss may becaused due to an increase in amount of heat radiation, caused by thecontraction of the vacuum space part 50, and an increase in amount ofheat conduction, caused by contact between the plate members 10 and 20.

A supporting unit 30 may be provided to reduce the deformation of thevacuum space part 50. The supporting unit 30 includes bars 31. The bars31 may extend in a direction substantially vertical to the first andsecond plate members 10 and 20 so as to support a distance between thefirst and second plate members 10 and 20. A support plate 35 may beadditionally provided to at least one end of the bar 31. The supportplate 35 connects at least two bars 31 to each other, and may extend ina direction horizontal to the first and second plate members 10 and 20.

The support plate 35 may be provided in a plate shape, or may beprovided in a lattice shape such that its area contacting the first orsecond plate member 10 or 20 is decreased, thereby reducing heattransfer. The bars 31 and the support plate 35 are fixed to each otherat at least one portion, to be inserted together between the first andsecond plate members 10 and 20. The support plate 35 contacts at leastone of the first and second plate members 10 and 20, thereby preventingdeformation of the first and second plate members 10 and 20. Inaddition, based on the extending direction of the bars 31, a totalsectional area of the support plate 35 is provided to be greater thanthat of the bars 31, so that heat transferred through the bars 31 may bediffused through the support plate 35.

A material of the supporting unit 30 may include a resin selected fromthe group consisting of polycarbonate (PC), glass fiber PC, lowoutgassing PC, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and liquid crystal polymer(LCP) so as to obtain high compressive strength, low outgassing andwater absorption, low thermal conductivity, high compressive strength athigh temperature, and excellent machinability.

A radiation resistance sheet 32 for reducing heat radiation between thefirst and second plate members 10 and 20 through the vacuum space part50 will be described. The first and second plate members 10 and 20 maybe made of a stainless material capable of preventing corrosion andproviding a sufficient strength. The stainless material has a relativelyhigh emissivity of 0.16, and hence a large amount of radiation heat maybe transferred. In addition, the supporting unit 30 made of the resinhas a lower emissivity than the plate members 10 and 20, and is notentirely provided to inner surfaces of the first and second platemembers 10 and 20. Hence, the supporting unit 30 does not have greatinfluence on radiation heat. Therefore, the radiation resistance sheet32 may be provided in a plate shape over a majority of the area of thevacuum space part 50 so as to concentrate on reduction of radiation heattransferred between the first and second plate members 10 and 20.

A product having a low emissivity may be preferably used as the materialof the radiation resistance sheet 32. In an embodiment, an aluminum foilhaving an emissivity of 0.02 may be used as the radiation resistancesheet 32. Also, at least one sheet of radiation resistance sheet 32 maybe provided at a certain distance so as not to contact each other. Atleast one radiation resistance sheet 32 may be provided in a state inwhich it contacts the inner surface of the first or second plate member10 or 20. Even when the vacuum space part 50 has a low height, one sheetof radiation resistance 32 sheet may be inserted. In case of the vehiclerefrigerator 7, one sheet of radiation resistance sheet 32 may beinserted so that the vacuum adiabatic body 101 has a thin thickness, andthe inner capacity of the cavity 100 is secured.

Referring to FIG. 11b , the distance between the plate members 10 and 20is maintained by the supporting unit 30, and a porous substance 33 maybe filled in the vacuum space part 50. The porous substance 33 may havea higher emissivity than the stainless material of the first and secondplate members 10 and 20. However, since the porous substance 33 isfilled in the vacuum space part 50, the porous substance 33 has a highefficiency for resisting the radiation heat transfer.

In this embodiment, the vacuum adiabatic body 101 may be fabricatedwithout using the radiation resistance sheet 32.

Referring to FIG. 11c , the supporting unit 30 maintaining the vacuumspace part 50 is not provided. Instead of the supporting unit 30, theporous substance 33 is provided in a state in which it is surrounded bya film 34. In this case, the porous substance 33 may be provided in astate in which it is compressed so as to maintain the gap of the vacuumspace part 50. The film 34 is made of, for example, a polyethylene (PE)material, and may be provided in a state in which holes are formedtherein.

In this embodiment, the vacuum adiabatic body may be fabricated withoutusing the supporting unit 30. In other words, the porous substance 33may simultaneously serve as the radiation resistance sheet 32 and thesupporting unit 30.

FIG. 12 is a view of a conductive resistance sheet and a peripheralportion of the conductive resistance sheet.

Referring to FIG. 12a , the first and second plate members 10 and 20 areto be sealed so as to vacuum the interior of the vacuum adiabatic body101. In this case, since the two plate members 10 and 20 have differenttemperatures from each other, heat transfer may occur between the twoplate members 10 and 20. A conductive resistance sheet 60 is provided toprevent heat conduction between two different kinds of plate members.

The conductive resistance sheet 60 may be provided with sealing parts 61at which both ends of the conductive resistance sheet 60 are sealed todefining at least one portion of the wall for the third space andmaintain the vacuum state. The conductive resistance sheet 60 may beprovided as a thin foil in unit of micrometer so as to reduce the amountof heat conducted along the wall for the third space. The sealing parts61 may be provided as welding parts. That is, the conductive resistancesheet 60 and the plate members 10 and 20 may be fused to each other. Inorder to cause a fusing action between the conductive resistance sheet60 and the plate members 10 and 20, the conductive resistance sheet 60and the plate members 10 and 20 may be made of the same material, and astainless material may be used as the material. The sealing parts 61 arenot limited to the welding parts, and may be provided through a processsuch as cocking. The conductive resistance sheet 60 may be provided in acurved shape. Thus, a heat conduction distance of the conductiveresistance sheet 60 is provided longer than the linear distance of eachplate member, so that the amount of heat conduction may be furtherreduced.

A change in temperature occurs along the conductive resistance sheet 60.Therefore, in order to block heat transfer to the exterior of theconductive resistance sheet 60, a shielding part 62 may be provided atthe exterior of the conductive resistance sheet 60 such that anadiabatic action occurs. In other words, in the vehicle refrigerator 7,the second plate member 20 has a high temperature and the first platemember 10 has a low temperature. In addition, heat conduction from hightemperature to low temperature occurs in the conductive resistance sheet60, and hence the temperature of the conductive resistance sheet 60 issuddenly changed. Therefore, when the conductive resistance sheet 60 isopened to the exterior thereof, heat transfer through the opened placemay seriously occur.

In order to reduce heat loss, the shielding part 62 is provided at theexterior of the conductive resistance sheet 60. For example, when theconductive resistance sheet 60 is exposed to any one of thelow-temperature space and the high-temperature space, the conductiveresistance sheet 60 does not serve as a conductive resistor as well asthe exposed portion thereof, which is not preferable.

The shielding part 62 may be provided as a porous substance 33contacting an outer surface of the conductive resistance sheet 60, maybe provided as an adiabatic structure, e.g., a separate gasket, which isplaced at the exterior of the conductive resistance sheet 60, or may beprovided as the console cover 300 disposed at a position facing theconductive resistance sheet 60.

A heat transfer path between the first and second plate members 10 and20 will be described. Heat passing through the vacuum adiabatic body maybe divided into surface conduction heat {circle around (1)} conductedalong a surface of the vacuum adiabatic body 101, more specifically, theconductive resistance sheet 60, supporter conduction heat {circle around(2)} conducted along the supporting unit 30 provided inside the vacuumadiabatic body 101, gas conduction heat {circle around (3)} conductedthrough an internal gas in the vacuum space part, and radiation transferheat {circle around (4)} transferred through the vacuum space part.

The transfer heat may be changed depending on various depending onvarious design dimensions. For example, the supporting unit 30 may bechanged such that the first and second plate members 10 and 20 mayendure a vacuum pressure without being deformed, the vacuum pressure maybe changed, the distance between the plate members 10 and 20 may bechanged, and the length of the conductive resistance sheet 60 may bechanged. The transfer heat may be changed depending on a difference intemperature between the spaces (the first and second spaces)respectively provided by the plate members 10 and 20. In the embodiment,a preferred configuration of the vacuum adiabatic body 101 has beenfound by considering that its total heat transfer amount is smaller thanthat of a typical adiabatic structure formed by foaming polyurethane. Ina typical refrigerator including the adiabatic structure formed byfoaming the polyurethane, an effective heat transfer coefficient may beproposed as about 19.6 mW/mK.

By performing a relative analysis on heat transfer amounts of the vacuumadiabatic body 101 of the embodiment, a heat transfer amount by the gasconduction heat {circle around (3)} may become smallest. For example,the heat transfer amount by the gas conduction heat {circle around (3)}may be controlled to be equal to or smaller than 4% of the total heattransfer amount. A heat transfer amount by solid conduction heat definedas a sum of the surface conduction heat {circle around (1)} and thesupporter conduction heat {circle around (2)} is largest. For example,the heat transfer amount by the solid conduction heat may reach 75% ofthe total heat transfer amount. A heat transfer amount by the radiationtransfer heat {circle around (4)} is smaller than the heat transferamount by the solid conduction heat but larger than the heat transferamount of the gas conduction heat {circle around (3)}. For example, theheat transfer amount by the radiation transfer heat {circle around (4)}may occupy about 20% of the total heat transfer amount.

According to such a heat transfer distribution, effective heat transfercoefficients (eK: effective K) (W/mK) of the surface conduction heat{circle around (1)}, the supporter conduction heat {circle around (2)},the gas conduction heat {circle around (3)}, and the radiation transferheat {circle around (4)} may have an order of Math Figure 1.

eK solid conduction heat>eK radiation transfer heat>eK gas conductionheat  [Math Figure 1]

Here, the effective heat transfer coefficient (eK) is a value that maybe measured using a shape and temperature differences of a targetproduct. The effective heat transfer coefficient (eK) is a value thatmay be obtained by measuring a total heat transfer amount and atemperature at least one portion at which heat is transferred. Forexample, a calorific value (W) is measured using a heating source thatmay be quantitatively measured in the refrigerator, a temperaturedistribution (K) of the door is measured using heats respectivelytransferred through a main body and an edge of the door of therefrigerator, and a path through which heat is transferred is calculatedas a conversion value (m), thereby evaluating an effective heat transfercoefficient.

The effective heat transfer coefficient (eK) of the entire vacuumadiabatic body 101 is a value given by k=QL/AΔT. Here, Q denotes acalorific value (W) and may be obtained using a calorific value of aheater. A denotes a sectional area (m2) of the vacuum adiabatic body, Ldenotes a thickness (m) of the vacuum adiabatic body, and ΔT denotes atemperature difference.

For the surface conduction heat, a conductive calorific value may beobtained through a temperature difference (ΔT) between an entrance andan exit of the conductive resistance sheet 60, a sectional area (A) ofthe conductive resistance sheet, a length (L) of the conductiveresistance sheet, and a thermal conductivity (k) of the conductiveresistance sheet 60 (the thermal conductivity of the conductiveresistance sheet 60 is a material property of a material and may beobtained in advance). For the supporter conduction heat, a conductivecalorific value may be obtained through a temperature difference (ΔT)between an entrance and an exit of the supporting unit 30, a sectionalarea (A) of the supporting unit 30, a length (L) of the supporting unit30, and a thermal conductivity (k) of the supporting unit 30. Here, thethermal conductivity of the supporting unit 30 is a material property ofa material and may be obtained in advance. The sum of the gas conductionheat {circle around (3)}, and the radiation transfer heat {circle around(4)} may be obtained by subtracting the surface conduction heat and thesupporter conduction heat from the heat transfer amount of the entirevacuum adiabatic body. A ratio of the gas conduction heat {circle around(3)}, and the radiation transfer heat {circle around (4)} may beobtained by evaluating radiation transfer heat when no gas conductionheat exists by remarkably lowering a vacuum degree of the vacuum spacepart 50.

When a porous substance 33 is provided inside the vacuum space part 50,porous substance conduction heat {circle around (5)} may be a sum of thesupporter conduction heat {circle around (2)} and the radiation transferheat {circle around (4)}. The porous substance conduction heat {circlearound (5)} may be changed depending on various variables including akind, an amount, and the like of the porous substance 33.

In the second plate member 20, a temperature difference between anaverage temperature of the second plate 20 and a temperature at a pointat which a heat transfer path passing through the conductive resistancesheet 60 meets the second plate 20 may be largest. For example, when thesecond space is a region hotter than the first space, the temperature atthe point at which the heat transfer path passing through the conductiveresistance sheet meets the second plate member 20 becomes lowest.Similarly, when the second space is a region colder than the firstspace, the temperature at the point at which the heat transfer pathpassing through the conductive resistance sheet 60 meets the secondplate member 20 becomes highest.

This means that the amount of heat transferred through other pointsexcept the surface conduction heat passing through the conductiveresistance sheet should be controlled, and the entire heat transferamount satisfying the vacuum adiabatic body 101 may be achieved onlywhen the surface conduction heat occupies the largest heat transferamount. To this end, a temperature variation of the conductiveresistance sheet 60 may be controlled to be larger than that of theplate member 20.

Physical characteristics of the parts constituting the vacuum adiabaticbody 101 will be described. In the vacuum adiabatic body 101, a force byvacuum pressure is applied to all of the parts. Therefore, a materialhaving strength (N/m2) of a certain level may be used.

Referring to FIG. 12b , this configuration is the same as that of FIG.12a except that portions at which the first plate member 10, the secondplate member 20 are coupled to the conductive resistance sheet 60. Thus,the same part omits the description and only the characteristic changesare described in detail.

Ends of the plate members 10 and 20 may be bent to the second spacehaving a high temperature to form a flange part 65. A welding part 61may be provided on a top surface of the flange part 65 to couple theconductive resistance sheet 60 to the flange part 65. In thisembodiment, the worker may perform welding while facing only any onesurface. Thus, since it is unnecessary to perform two processes, theprocess may be convenient.

It is more preferable to apply the case in which welding of the insideand the outside are difficult as illustrated in FIG. 12a because a spaceof the vacuum space part 50 is narrow like the vehicle refrigerator 7.

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating results obtained by observing a time anda pressure in a process of exhausting the inside of the vacuum adiabaticbody 101 when a supporting unit 30 is used.

Referring to FIG. 13, in order to create the vacuum space part 50 to bein the vacuum state, a gas in the vacuum space part 50 is exhausted by avacuum pump while evaporating a latent gas remaining in the parts of thevacuum space part 50 through heating. However, if the vacuum pressurereaches a certain level or more, there exists a point at which the levelof the vacuum pressure is not increased any more (Δt1). After that, thegetter is activated by disconnecting the vacuum space part 50 from thevacuum pump and applying heat to the vacuum space part 50 (Δt2). If thegetter is activated, the pressure in the vacuum space part 50 isdecreased for a certain period of time, but then normalized to maintaina vacuum pressure of a certain level. The vacuum pressure that maintainsthe certain level after the activation of the getter is approximately1.8×10⁻⁶ Torr.

In the embodiment, a point at which the vacuum pressure is notsubstantially decreased any more even though the gas is exhausted byoperating the vacuum pump is set to the lowest limit of the vacuumpressure used in the vacuum adiabatic body 101, thereby setting theminimum internal pressure of the vacuum space part 50 to 1.8×10⁻⁶ Torr.

FIG. 14 is a graph obtained by comparing a vacuum pressure with gasconductivity.

Referring to FIG. 14, gas conductivities with respect to vacuumpressures depending on sizes of a gap in the vacuum space part 50 arerepresented as graphs of effective heat transfer coefficients (eK).Effective heat transfer coefficients (eK) were measured when the gap inthe vacuum space part 50 has three sizes of 2.76 mm, 6.5 mm, and 12.5mm. The gap in the vacuum space part 50 is defined as follows. When theradiation resistance sheet 32 exists inside vacuum space part 50, thegap is a distance between the radiation resistance sheet 32 and theplate member 10 or 20 adjacent thereto. When the radiation resistancesheet 32 does not exist inside vacuum space part 50, the gap is adistance between the first and second plate members 10 and 20.

It may be seen that, since the size of the gap is small at a pointcorresponding to a typical effective heat transfer coefficient of 0.0196W/mK, which is provided to an adiabatic material formed by foamingpolyurethane, the vacuum pressure is 2.65×10⁻¹ Torr even when the sizeof the gap is 2.76 mm. Meanwhile, it may be seen that the point at whichreduction in adiabatic effect caused by gas conduction heat is saturatedeven though the vacuum pressure is decreased is a point at which thevacuum pressure is approximately 4.5×10⁻³ Torr. The vacuum pressure of4.5×10⁻³ Torr may be defined as the point at which the reduction inadiabatic effect caused by gas conduction heat is saturated. Also, whenthe effective heat transfer coefficient is 0.1 W/mK, the vacuum pressureis 1.2×10⁻² Torr.

When the vacuum space part 50 is not provided with the supporting unit30 but provided with the porous substance 33, the size of the gap rangesfrom a few micrometers to a few hundreds of micrometers. In this case,the amount of radiation heat transfer is small due to the poroussubstance 33 even when the vacuum pressure is relatively high, i.e.,when the vacuum degree is low. Therefore, an appropriate vacuum pump isused to adjust the vacuum pressure. The vacuum pressure appropriate tothe corresponding vacuum pump is approximately 2.0×10⁻⁴ Torr. Also, thevacuum pressure at the point at which the reduction in adiabatic effectcaused by gas conduction heat is saturated is approximately 4.7×10⁻²Torr. Also, the pressure where the reduction in adiabatic effect causedby gas conduction heat reaches the typical effective heat transfercoefficient of 0.0196 W/mK is 730 Torr.

When the supporting unit 30 and the porous substance 33 are providedtogether in the vacuum space part, a vacuum pressure may be created andused, which is middle pressure between the vacuum pressure when only thesupporting unit 30 is used and the vacuum pressure when only the poroussubstance 33 is used.

According to the embodiments, the vehicle refrigerator 7 that receivesonly power from the outside and is independent apparatus may beefficiently realized.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers.In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third,etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “lower”, “upper” and the like, may beused herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of oneelement or feature to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated inthe figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “lower” relative to other elements or features would then be oriented“upper” relative the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplaryterm “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used hereininterpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference tocross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the disclosure.As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result,for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure should not be construed aslimited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but areto include deviations in shapes that result, for example, frommanufacturing.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

1. A refrigerator for a vehicle, comprising: a compartment; a door thatopens and closes the compartment; a machine room provided at a side ofthe compartment; a compressor provided in the machine room to compress arefrigerant; a condenser provided in the machine room to condense therefrigerant; an expansion valve to expand the refrigerant condensed inthe condenser; an evaporator accommodated into the compartment toevaporate the refrigerant and thereby to cool the compartment; and anadiabatic hinge support covering an upper end of the evaporator, theadiabatic hinge support supporting the door to allow opening and closingof the door.
 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, furthercomprising a conduit connecting the evaporator to the expansion valve topass over a wall of the compartment.
 3. The refrigerator according toclaim 2, further comprising: at least two refrigerant conduits providedin the conduit and heat-exchanged; a regeneration adiabatic membersurrounding the at least two refrigerant conduits; and a seating insertprovided in the adiabatic hinge support to surround the regenerationadiabatic member.
 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein theadiabatic hinge support extends beyond the compartment to an outside,and covers an upper end of the compartment.
 5. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 1, wherein the adiabatic hinge support comprises aninner support and an outer support spaced apart from each other, theinner and outer supports each protruding upward to support a hinge shaftof the door.
 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, furthercomprising a connection bar connecting the inner support to the outersupport.
 7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein theevaporator contacts a bottom surface of the connection bar.
 8. Therefrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the compartment is a vacuumadiabatic body having an opened top.
 9. The refrigerator according toclaim 1, wherein the adiabatic hinge support further comprises an innerseal that is sealed to correspond to an inner surface of thecompartment.
 10. The refrigerator according to claim 1, furthercomprising a cover covering an upper edge of the compartment togetherwith the adiabatic hinge support.
 11. The refrigerator according toclaim 10, wherein the adiabatic hinge support is at least partiallyinserted into the cover, and a bearing supporting a hinge shaft of thedoor is provided on the cover.
 12. A vehicle comprising: a plurality ofseats spaced apart from each other; a console provided between adjacentseats and having a console space therein; a console cover covering a topof the console; a suction port provided on a first side of the console;an exhaust port provided on a second side of the console; a refrigeratorbase provided in the console space; a compartment provided at the firstside of the console on the refrigerator base; a machine room provided atthe second side of the console on the refrigerator base; a door thatopens and closes the compartment; a compressor provided at a front ofthe machine room to compress a refrigerant; a condenser provided at arear of the machine room to condense the refrigerant; an evaporatorprovided in the compartment to evaporate the refrigerant; and anadiabatic hinge support interposed between the evaporator and theconsole cover to support the door to allow opening and closing of thedoor.
 13. The vehicle according to claim 12, further comprising: abearing provided on the console cover; and a support provided on theadiabatic hinge support and inserted into the beating.
 14. The vehicleaccording to claim 13, wherein the bearing and the support are providedat inner and outer sides of the compartment, the outer side being a sidenear the first side of the console and the inner side being a side nearthe machine room.
 15. The vehicle according to claim 13, wherein afitting groove reinforcing and supporting a hinge of the door is definedin the support.
 16. The vehicle according to claim 12, wherein theadiabatic hinge support further extends out of the compartment.
 17. Arefrigerator for a vehicle, comprising: a compartment to store aproduct; a door that opens and closes a top opening of the compartment;a machine room spaced apart from the compartment; a compressoraccommodated in the machine room to compress a refrigerant; a condenseraccommodated in the machine room to condense the refrigerant; anexpansion valve expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser; anevaporator accommodated in the compartment to evaporate the refrigerantand thereby to cool the compartment; an adiabatic door support coveringat least a portion of an upper end of the compartment and supporting thedoor; and a console cover provided above the compartment to cover anupper end of the compartment and also to cover the adiabatic doorsupport.
 18. The vehicle according to claim 17, further comprising: abearing provided on the console cover of the door to support a hingeshaft of the door; and a support provided on the adiabatic door supportand inserted into the bearing to reinforce the door.
 19. The vehicleaccording to claim 17, wherein the evaporator has a top surface cominginto contact with a bottom surface of the adiabatic door support. 20.The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the adiabatic door supportprotrudes to an outside of the compartment.